COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Mael Corboz notched a penalty kick goal in the 17th minute to give the Maryland men's soccer team a critical win against VCU Wednesday night at Ludwig Field.

Corboz nailed his third penalty kick of the season to halt a two-game losing skid for Maryland (4-5-2, 1-2-1 Big Ten). Terrapin sophomore goalkeeper Zack Steffen tallied his fourth shutout of the 2014 campaign.

Maryland, which was playing without head coach Sasho Cirovski due to his suspension by the Big Ten Conference for a violation of the league's sportsmanship policy following Sunday's game at Northwestern, outshot VCU (4-7-1) 16-4 on the night.

Alex Shinsky's hustle play set up the Terrapins' lone goal of the night. After a failed clear by Ram keeper Garrett Cyprus, Shinsky blocked the ball towards VCU's goal line and the senior captain was brought down in a last-ditch effort by Cyprus, who was given a red card for the infraction.

Corboz stuck the ensuing penalty kick for a 1-0 Terrapin advantage. The junior transfer from Rutgers led Maryland with five shots on the night.

The win avenged a loss to VCU last season in which the Rams rallied for three goals in the final 13 of minutes of play to escape Ludwig with the victory.

“I'm really proud of the guys. We talked at the beginning about being a connected group and playing for each other and I thought they did that,” assistant coach Brian Rowland said. “I think we were a little unfortunate to not score a couple more goals. We will keep building and gaining more quality in our attack. But in terms of effort and in terms of commitment to each other and defending, I couldn't be happier with the group today.”

Maryland hosts a pivotal Big Ten Conference tilt when No. 3 Penn State pays a visit to Ludwig Field on Sunday at 1 p.m. The game will be shown live on the Big Ten Network.